Libyan Officials: NATO Attacked Civilians

A NATO air strike killed around seven civilians on June 19 in eastern Tripoli, Libya.

Libyan government officials took reporters to the scene in the anti-Qaddafi Arada district, where journalists were shown a destroyed building and a body that was pulled out of debris. The building, however, looked like it had been under construction as it was mostly vacant.

Libya’s Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim: "There was intention and deliberate targeting of civilian houses and about seven people were killed. People tried to rescue the others who were in the ground floor.”

Reporters also got to visit a local hospital and were shown three bodies, as well as a wounded child. Libya officials told Al Arabiya that these civilians were victims of NATO’s air strike on Arada, but the channel was unable to independently verify this.

A similar incident took place two weeks ago when staff members of the same hospital accused government officials of passing false information to reporters about a NATO strike which had wounded a child.

Speaker:
Khaled Kaim - Libya’s Deputy Foreign Minister
Moussa Ibrahim - Government Official